TRAVELING TO PATAGONIA.

MIGUEL SOTO OF TURISMO YAMANA SHARES HELPFUL TIPS ON TRAVELING TO PATAGONIA.

PUNTA ARENAS — Turismo Yamana has offered quality tours of Patagonia since 1990. The company’s goal is to provide tourists with exclusive adventures at Torres del Paine, Parque Nacional de los Glaciares in Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, and Canales de Patagonia.

Miguel Soto, owner of Turismo Yamana has over 25 years of experience in the tourism industry.

He says tourists should take the Turismo Yamana tours rather than trying to explore Patagonia on their own because the area “requires a thorough knowledge of its territory and tourists who try to walk through it by themselves sometimes get outdated data or waste time on unnecessary transfers. They can also spend more money than necessary on some services. Patagonia is not a city, it is an area that should be understood according to the priorities of each client.”

Turismo Yamana asks tourists to be respectful and tolerant of different cultures and traditions, respect human rights and cultural resources, as well as nature, buy local products to help the local economy, gather information about your destination and the services that will be available to you there, and know the local laws.

According to Soto, it is necessary for tourists to be in suitable physical condition in order to hike, horseback ride, and kayak so that they will be able to enjoy the journeys.

Soto advises tourists to “open your mind to new things, to landscapes sometimes extensive and intensive. A willingness to solitude and the company of other people around the world. To come prepared to get different experiences, to enjoy both wind and calm. In short, enjoy the contrasts of nature that are perceived very much alive in Patagonia.”

According to Soto, the most essential item to pack on a trip to Patagonia is a pair of sturdy broken-in walking shoes that can be used on varying tracts of land from grass to volcanic rock. It is also important to bring a warm coat, hat, and sunglasses for the cold, heat, hail, and wind.